I will always take care of you
by Elizabeth4Will
Summary: Challenge from Hali at Hide the Rum. Will takes Liz below deck after she finds out her father's dead and tried his best to comfort her.


Hali at Hide the Rum made a list of challenges involving At World's End Spoilers-

3. Will takes Liz below deck after she finds out her father's dead and tried his best to comfort her.

This is the challenge I took up! I hope you all enjoy it!

I will always take care of you.

"Is there anything that can be done?" Will asked softly to Tia Dalma, holding Elizabeth close against him.

"He's at peace," was Tia Dalma's simple reply. Elizabeth's sobs got louder, though they were muffled against his shirt. The crew dispersed, all walking away from the awkward situation. Keeping his right arm around her shoulders, he scooped her up, putting his left arm under her knees and carried her below decks, Elizabeth still crying against him.

Walking down the stairs, he walked through the row of hammocks to a secluded area of the ship, a storage area with a make shift bed that had been made for Elizabeth so she didn't have to sleep with the rest of the crew. He knelt beside the bed placing her tiny frame on it and Elizabeth let go of him, pulling away. Will had seen Elizabeth cry twice. The first time was after they were arrested, put in those cold cells. Will had been handcuffed to the side of the cell so he couldn't escape and Elizabeth was in the cell next door. She had come over and sat next to him, hers reaching out and holding his through the metal bars. It was the first time he'd seen her cry, slowly tears slid down her cheeks as she got as close to Will as she could. The second time was when they were in Tia Dalma's hut; he now knew that she had cried because of the guilt she felt. This time, as he watched her body shake and she held her hands to her face. His heart broke at the sight of her. She was normally such a strong woman but now she was broken and vulnerable, he knew that any problems they had could wait. Right now she needed him, and he still loved her.

Will reached out and put his hand on the side of Elizabeth's head, brushing back her hair. She lowered her hands and looked at him in shock, her eyes wide and bloodshot. After their last conversation he realised that she wasn't expecting him to be kind to her. He frowned at the realisation and went and beside her on the small bed. Will then cupped her face with one hand and placed the other on her back. His thumb stroked her tear stained cheek as she trembled and closed her eyes, tears flowing again. Her lips were red and pouted; they did that whenever she was upset. He pulled Elizabeth against him once again and she was soon sobbing into his shoulder, her hands gripping his shirt in her hands. He rocked her, stroking her hair and back but there were no words he could think that could possibly ease her pain. So he let her cry it out, pulling her into his lap, wanting her to feel protected. He never held her like this before, she felt so small, making Will wonder whether she was eating enough. The past weeks having such a strain of him he hadn't been thinking about simple things like that. He rested his head on her shoulder, content to hold her.

After a while Elizabeth no longer made any noise, Will thought she had fallen asleep. But he felt her hands moved up to his neck and she pulled back to look at him. He looked into her tear stained face and smiled gently, which she returned with a watery smile as tears started to form again. She rubbed her eyes with her hands and pulled away from him, sitting bedside him and running her hands through her hair before placing them in her lap.

"Thank you," she whispered not looking at him.

"What for?" he asked softly, watching her face.

"For stopping me when I tried to get to my father. For taking me down here and taking care of me. I know you didn't have to and I don't deserve,"

"Elizabeth..." He started to reason and reached for her hands, but was shocked to see them red and some skin was badly grazed. "What happened?" He asked.

"When you pulled me I tried not to let go of the rope I was using for balance. It ripped through my hands as you pulled me down. It was my own fault."

Will leant forward and pulled her hands up to meet him half way, kissing her palms very softly before putting them back on her lap and looking around her something to wrap them in. He saw a piece of black cloth on the crate beside the bed and picked it up, ripping it into two bandages. He started wrapping her hands, carefully not to hurt them.

"This seems similar," he said, remembering almost two years ago doing this for her on the Interceptor after they escaped Barbossa.

Elizabeth smiled and replied, "Yes. Its seems a million years ago now," her voice was soft and sad. Will finished bandaging her hands and she starting tracing his hands with her fingers, running them over his knuckles and over his palms.

"Elizabeth, I'll always take care of you" he whispered and she looked up at him.

"Will, I'm so sorry. About everything, I..." Will stopped her talking by gently placing his fingers on her mouth. He didn't want her to apologise while she was like this. He lowered his hand and she whispered, "It's you I love. It's always been you," Will looked up into her eyes; she was biting her lip nervously, her eyes searching.

He leaned in and kissed her gently, his hand cupping her neck. Elizabeth sighed against the kiss, returning it softly. He ended the kiss, leaning his forehead against hers, his thumb stroking her jaw line. "You should rest," he said softly against her lips. She looked drained and exhausted, but the look on her face when she said she loved him had made her look more beautiful than ever. Elizabeth looked briefly behind her at the bed before moving her hands to remove her outer layer of clothing. Will stood, intending to leave her to sleep but the sound of her voice calling his name made his turn around. She wearing the robe she had worn in the bathhouses and her trousers, she took her shoes off and looked at him. "Don't go," she pleaded. He walked over to the bed and sat down, took his boots off and his effects, putting them on the ground. He looked back at her and she laid down nervously, resting her head on the pillow, sliding her legs under the blanket. Will got under the blankets beside her, wrapping his arm around her waist, she turned towards the wall and Will pulled her against him chest, then moved his hands to wrap the blanket around them. His right arm went above their heads, bent at the elbow where Elizabeth had reached up and took his hand in both of hers, her fingers stroking the rough skin of his hand lazily. His left arm stayed around her waist, his head lying on the pillow behind her head, his face against her soft hair. Together, for the first time in a long time, the both of them slept peacefully.


End file.
